NFL: Week 2 Predictions 2011

The first week has come and gone with a few surprise wins from some teams that didn't fair to well last season and of course some teams came out incredibly flat. That should be expected though with some teams as the shortened off-season could hurt teams, the most glaring of all has been the defenses being gassed towards the end of games. My week one predictions were okay, i got eleven games correct out of sixteen and the biggest surprise was the Bills upsetting the Chiefs in Kansas City. The Bills didn't just upset them, they demolished them.

Now for what we all are here for, the Week 2 predictions!

Kansas City Chiefs at Detroit Lions

My Pick: Lions

The Lions had a tough challenge for their first game of the season in playing the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay but were able to pull out the victory. Now the Lions will be hosting the Kansas City Chiefs who are looking to rebound from a disturbingly bad loss to the lowly Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs will be playing much harder to get some redemption for the loss they suffered, but the Lions are tough nosed team and considering it is their home debut, the Chiefs will be in for a long day. The Chiefs struggle against aggressive defenses and defensive lines like Detroit's as it negates Cassel's ability to stand in the pocket and look down field. The Chiefs have the weapons to beat Detroit but Detroit is out to prove that they are not going to be at the bottom of the division any longer.

Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills

My Pick: Bills

The Raiders did just enough to pull out a tough divisional win against the Broncos on Monday night, and expect the same against the Bills. The Raiders won't blow people out but because of how talented Darren McFadden is, he will constantly keep them in games. The Raiders did manage to lose a lot of pieces on defense but Stanford Routt and the Raiders defensive backs still make the Raiders defense formidable. The Bills won't be an easy opponent, they had a great game against the Chiefs but it's doubtful that Fitzpatrick and the Bills will be able to be that successful two games in a row. They have an advantage being at home, and the Raiders are playing on a short week seeing how they played in Denver on Monday night. The Bills win this game, and it'll probably be a close game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings

My Pick: Buccaneers

Tampa played a tough game against the Detroit but Aqib Talib needs to play better as he was the one that cost them the most against the Lions. Talib is the team's most talented corner and he got scorched by Calvin Johnson time after time. If Talib can play up to his ability then it makes the Buccaneers a much more balanced team, even if he doesn't play up to snuff the Buccaneers still have enough to beat the anemic Vikings. The Vikings got up on the Chargers last week, but were unable to score another point in the second half as new quarter back Donovan McNabb passed the ball for a pathetic thirty nine yards. The Vikings offense doesn't seem to know how to put it together every since the Favre experiment last year ended, and things don't seem to be getting any better with McNabb.

Chicago at New Orleans

My Pick: Saints

The Bears had an impressive debut to their season against the Atlanta Falcons and now travel to New Orleans to take on Drew Brees and the Saints. The Bears will have the tough task of taking on another high powered offense in the Saints and there defense will do a good job but ultimately they won't be able to keep up with the Saints. It doesn't help the Bears that the Saints are desperate for a win as they suffered a loss in their season opener to the Packers. Brees should have a good game as he faces a Bears team that can be had in the air, the important thing for Brees is that his offensive line has to give him enough time to let things develop down field.

Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans

My Pick: Ravens

The Titans pulled a surprising road win against their division rival Jaguars and face the Ravens this week in Tennessee. The Ravens played out of their mind against the Steelers last week, and Flacco impressed with his play. The Titans, in all reality, beat the Jags who had a relatively new starting quarterback and a overall below-average to average team and now face a team that could compete within the AFC. The Ravens hit harder, play faster and play smarter and should dismantle the Titans.

Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts

My Pick: Browns

The Colts were simply pathetic in their season opener against the Texans and it looks like it could be a very long season considering Peyton Manning's injury. The season could be in even more trouble now that the Browns are coming into town as a team that is much more polished going forward in the year. The Colts in all aspects last week looked sloppy, as did the Browns last week, but the Colts couldn't seem to muster up any kind of rhythm on offense and that spells trouble for Indy this week.

Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets

My Pick: Jets

Rob Ryan's team really showed up to play in the second half against the Dallas Cowboys and look to carry that success into their second game of the season. The Jets shouldn't have to much of a problem against the Jaguars, the only thing that would be nice to see out of the Jets is improvement out of their aging defense. The Cowboys outside of the fourth quarter had no problem moving the ball on the hard-nosed Jets defense. The Jets will look to contain Maurice Jones-Drew and force McCown to throw the ball, and when he does expect Revis or Cromartie to capitalize on it.

Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers

My Pick: Steelers

The Steelers were down right embarrased in their season opener against the Ravens and will look to prove this week that it was simply a fluke. They are fortunate to be facing an opponent that is in a clear rebuilding mode so that they can iron out some things on the defense. For one the Steelers seem to have an issue when their defense is spread out. The Packers in the Super Bowl exposed this weakness, as did the Ravens last week.

Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins

My Pick: Redskins

The Redskins had an impressive season opener against the Giants and their schedule benefits them here for this week as they didn't need to travel. The Redskins were able to get the win, rest, and prepare for the Cardinals this week, and after seeing how rookie Cam Newton torched the Cardinals secondary, you have to imagine Rex Grossman will try to do the same. That's not to say that Tim Hightower won't be involved, as he still will get 20+ carries in this game against his old team. Hightower will look to show the Cardinals that they made a mistake in trading him and the Redskins defense will also be much improved considering one of their top players will be back from an injury as LaRon Landry will be back at safety.

Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers

My Pick: Packers

Cam Newton had a fantastic debut as the starting quarterback of the Panthers, but don't expect him to have that kind of success against the tough Packers defense. The Packers benefit from having a great group at defensive back and having a great front seven that all can get after the quarterback. The Packers will be able to confuse and throw Newton off rhythm while the Packers offense behind Aaron Rodgers continuously racks up points on the other side.

Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers

My Pick: Cowboys

The Niners had an impressive debut to their season and the new head coach got off to a great start, but I don't think he can count on Ted Ginn to have two returns for a touchdown every game. The Niners could have a good season, but will struggle this week against the aggressive Dallas defense and Tony Romo should bounce back from blowing the game against the Jets considering the suspect pass defense for the Niners.

San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots

My Pick: Patriots

San Diego cannot afford to start slow against the Patriots like they did last week against the Vikings. If the Chargers get down early, they might as well start packing their bags and planning for next week. The Patriots looked incredibly sharp on offense last week against the Dolphins on Monday night while their defense didn't look as impressive. The Pats defense will have a good test this week with Philip Rivers and should be happy considering the fact that the Chargers seemed to struggle running the ball last week. The Pats will likely give up some big plays but it is doubtful that the Chargers will be able to keep up with Tom Brady and how efficient the Patriots offense is.

Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins

My Pick: Texans

The Houston Texans looked very good against the Colts in their first game, and mind you Arian Foster was not on the field. Foster comes back this week and will start. The Dolphins looked good in the first half of their game against the Patriots on Monday night, but then reverted back to the Dolphins that we all remember as of late. Chad Henne made some good plays, but he made poor decisions for the most part. The Texans under new defensive coordinator Wade Philips have a much more aggressive defense that puts a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and that will likely make Henne panic in the pocket.

Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos

My Pick: Bengals

The Bengals surprised many by pulling out the victory over the Browns in Cleveland last week and will likely win again this week. The Bengals should have an easy time moving the ball on the Broncos suspect defense as Cedric Benson will have a field day. The Broncos were exposed on Monday night as their defensive tackles got no push and were often overpowered by the Raiders offensive linemen, expect the same this week. The Broncos also will be without star wide receiver Brandon Lloyd which will hurt their passing game which already is pretty poor.

Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons

My Pick: Eagles

The Eagles were gashed on the ground by the Rams last week by Cadillac Williams due to the injury that Steven Jackson suffered on his first run of the game, and you should expect that the Falcons game plan against the Eagles defense will involve a good amount of Michael Turner. The Falcons also will be playing a lot harder considering how they were down right embarrased by the Bears last week but being without Jordan Babineaux the Falcons could struggle to contain the Eagles running game. The Falcons also have listed their center Todd McClure out for the game which could be a huge factor in this game. The Eagles will have to rely heavily on their defensive line to apply pressure on Matt Ryan. The Eagles will struggle but due to their pass defense and explosiveness on offense they will likely be able to pull it out.

St. Louis Rams at New York Giants

My Pick: Giants

The Rams played a good game against the Eagles and if their receivers were able to catch on third down the game could have been completely different. This week should be more of the same and the Rams would win if they had Steven Jackson ready to play but due to his injury I expect the Giants to win this game in a very ugly Monday night game. Bradford will have a bounce back game against the suspect Giants secondary but it won't be enough.